Why Ex-Celtics coach believes current team is better than last year’s

Charles Lee was part of the - Celtics squad that won an NBA championship He believes this year s Boston squad is even better Lee who now coaches the Charlotte Hornets after one season as Joe Mazzulla s top Celtics assistant marveled at the C s talent and depth before Friday s battle at TD Garden They were good last year and I feel like they got even better this year Lee disclosed I think that the bench has gotten deeper Seeing what Payton Pritchard s been able to do this year he adds so much to the unit Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet those guys have really contributed a lot too and then your main guys have continued to get better Like to see JT Jayson Tatum the first time that we played them in Charlotte to see the poise that he has the trust that he has in all of his teammates just continuing to make the right pass over and over again It s a gang with great depth that looks like they just did a great job of preparing and I know Joe and the staff they re obsessed with just making sure these guys have all the tools they need for every situation Wins over Charlotte in their final two regular-season games would give the Celtics a - record three wins shy of last season s record Last year s group won the Eastern Conference by games and breezed through the playoffs the current group will enter the playoffs as the East s No seed and should face stiffer postseason competition from teams like conference-leading Cleveland and Oklahoma City Friday was Lee s first time back at the Celtics home arena since he left to take over the rebuilding Hornets Returning to Causeway Street brought back a lot of joyous emotions he declared You re building something in your first year and to end the season here it s pretty special Lee declared This is part of my journey it kind of helped groom me to be ready for the position that I m in now and so just a lot of elation a lot of gratitude when you walk in because you re like man I got to win a championship here and I got to learn from so a multitude of people and all the all the things that helped prepare me for this moment is pretty special Since the season began Lee has had very little interaction with Mazzulla who famously avoids in-season chitchat with fellow head coaches for fear of giving away psychological tells Mazzulla reported in November straight-faced that Lee breached NBA rules and came into the assistant coach locker room and forced me to give him a hug before an early-season Celtics-Hornets tournament in Charlotte I informed Charles when he left I m not talking to you during the season I m not waving to you at the national anthem I m not doing that You re an enemy ' Mazzulla commented then Lee like the reporters in attendance at that news conference couldn t quite tell if Mazzulla was serious I love that about Joe the -year-old commented You don t know if it s for real or a joke That s why you build such a great friendship I understand that in the heat of a moment or during the season you are the enemy If you re not wearing a Celtics uniform or within the Celtics organization he s doing everything he can to prepare to beat you In the summer he might share selected knowledge with me or chosen wisdom and we ll grab a beer together or specific wine